During the UFME (Union of Friars Minor of Europe) Assembly, which took place in Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) from 27 February to 3 March, Br Darko Tepert, Secretary General for Formation and Studies, presented his report on Initial and Ongoing Formation in the Conferences in Europe. It was a careful and proactive analysis of the current situation of vocations and professions on the continent.
The statistics are clear: in the last ten years, Europe has seen a decline in vocations in all the Conferences, undoubtedly due to the low birth rate and the strong secularisation of Europe. Elements that can hardly be changed in the short term, but "the factor we can focus on is our form of life and mission," said Br Darko. "We have to ask ourselves what we can do to make our life and mission more attractive, knowing that attraction is not a fruit of our commitments or planning, but that it is the fruit of God's call, lived within the context of the Franciscan charism. Therefore, we must ask ourselves how to live the Franciscan charism today in Europe, how to be friars minor - brothers and minors, the least of all".
The General Secretary of the GSFS then spoke about the importance of listening to the Spirit in Ongoing Formation: "Ongoing Formation should start precisely from listening to the Spirit and should seek to answer current questions to truly involve the friars. For this purpose, as the Ratio formationis franciscanae also notes, Formation should also be conceived on an experiential level. If ongoing Formation remains limited to lectures and talks at an exclusively intellectual level and does not aim at change, improvement of life and mission, it will remain fruitless or of little fruit".
Collaboration between European Conferences can significantly help the friars in their formation, according to Br Darko: "Collaboration between Conferences in Europe can open new perspectives for the friars, offering, for example, Ongoing Formation courses for other Provinces and other Conferences. In this way, we can perhaps hope to exchange new ideas of life and mission. [...] We need an openness to the reality of life of the people, especially those in the peripheries. Some entities have experience of what is called the Franciscan year: this type of experience can be had among the poor, among migrants, in the new forms of life and mission (according to the document Ite, nuntiate...), in the missions. Of course, not all entities will be able to offer all these experiences, but at the level of UFME, the opportunities will be greater".
Melania Bruno
OFM Communications Office